Authentic And Compelling Adaptation! Normal People (2020) || Miniseries Review

in Movies & TV Shows5 hours ago (edited)

If you want to drain my energy and make me moody, force me to watch a psychological film or show. I don't really fancy watching this genre in movies but in books, I could read and devour it. I don't know why, but maybe I will find out some day.

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Few days ago, I was looking through my streaming site to see what I can watch and probably enjoy. Then I came across the trailer of ”Normal People”, a miniseries. From the trailer it seemed to me like a sad tv drama but the title got me curious that I didn't notice it was a psychological drama. It was after I'd finished watching the show I discovered that it was a romantic, psychological drama.

I say, this is the only psychological drama that has given me good experience in a long time. It surprised me and I was absolutely impressed with it at the end of the day.

”Normal People” is an Irish miniseries. It is a romantic psychological drama that was produced by BBC and Element Pictures together with Hulu. You see, this miniseries is an adaptation of a novel with the same title by Sally Rooney in 2018. The script of this drama was written by Sally Rooney together with Alice Birch and Mark O'Rowe. It was directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald. It starred Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Desmond Eastwood, Aislín McGuckin, Niamh Lynch, Sarah Greene, Frank Blake, India Mullen, Eliot Salt, Éanna Hardwicke and Clinton Liberty.

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This show is something you can finish within 2 days, if you don't have much activities to do as it only has 12 episodes. The story is set in a secondary school in the rural town of County Sligo in Ireland where a young popular athlete Connell meets Marianne who is an outcast in this school.

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Soon Connell and Marianne became friends seamlessly without effort. Connell’s mum works as the housekeeper at Marianne's mansion. So Connell always comes to pick his mum after school hours. This routine led to development of their friendship regardless of the fact that Marianne is a loner, an outcast in school, living with her distant mother and her hateful brother.

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Soon their relationship developed from friendship to an intense romantic relationship. Marianne opens up to Connell about her feelings for him. He accepts but becomes skeptical about going public with Marianne. So they both decided to keep it a secret. Their hidden relationships continue to blossom as they are both were drawn to one another but at the same time many things keep drawing them apart. However, Connell decided to ask a female of his to prom instead of Marianne. This shattered their created a massive problem. Will they be back together again? What keeps pulling them back to each other?

What I like about This Show.

  • The storytelling of this show was well done in a tender, compelling and an authentic way. I love the way I was carried along throughout the entire show with getting bored or tired. I was always eager to see the next episode because I bond easily with all the characters.

  • It captures Irish culture perfectly. It is a fantastic show that vividly depicts the lifestyle of teenagers in Ireland. It also portrays how boys over there struggle with how to express emotions and how it affects their life/relationship of any sort.

  • The characters were all authentic. In this aspect, I say, the cast brought all the characters of this show to life. Their performance was the main reason why I was hooked from the beginning to the end of this drama. Bravo to the cast. It was obvious they all put so much work into portraying their characters. When they are happy, I feel it, when they are sad, I feel, when they are depressed, I feel it. They were all convincing.

  • It explored powerful themes that are intertwined with lifestyle. Like, love isn't always straightforward, the gap between the rich and poor, peer pressure, and family dynamics.

My Review And Rating.

I say the directors of this show did an expectational job. I think it is an amazing adaptation of the book. The scene arrangements were excellent, the cinematography was fantastic and all the soundtracks used in the show give off the 80s vibes. The wardrobe of the cast was decent and befitting. I loved it.

All the steamy scenes were done with passion that it look so really. It is not 50 shades kind if steamy scene, but decent one that did cross any line. There were good melodramatic scenes that may seem frustrating to others but to me it was just a reality of life. The plot was well written, no fall flat characters, all the characters were engaging and compelling.

Overall, it was a beautiful, heartwrenching, and authentic show. Rating it, I will give it 7 out 10 stars. It was entertaining and I enjoyed watching. It is not a show where your expectations are high. It is show you watch and gently connect with the characters.

I recommend this show to lovers of Psychological dramas, romance and Fans of BBC shows.

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All images above are from the movie screenshots

Poster image source

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